See also: 1972 in music, other events of 1973, 1974 in music, 1970s in music and the list of 'years in music'

Events

January-February

• January 9 - Mick Jagger's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug bust, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones' plans to tour the Orient.
• January 14 - Elvis Presley's Aloha From Hawaii television special is seen around the world by more than 1 billion viewers
• January 14 - Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh is arrested for drug possession in California.
• January 18 - The Rolling Stones benefit concert for Nicaraguan earthquake victims raises over $350,000. (Mick Jagger adds $150,000 of his own money to the total in May). On December 22, 1972, an earthquake destroyed Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.
• January 30 - KISS performs their first concert, at the Coventary Club in Queens.
• February 14 - David Bowie collapses from exhaustion after a performance at New York's Madison Square Garden

March-April

• March 1 - The New York Joffrey Ballet's Deuce Coupe Ballet opens. The ballet is set entirely around music by The Beach Boys.
• March 5 - The late Jimi Hendrix's former personal manager, Michael Jeffrey, is killed in a plane crash. Jeffrey was travelling from Majorca to England. All passengers on board the plane were killed.
• March 6 - The New York Office of the US Immigration Department cancels John Lennon's visa extension, after it having been granted five days earlier.
• March 7 - The director of talent acquisition at Columbia Records, John Hammond suffers a non-fatal heart attack following a performance by one of his most recent finds, Bruce Springsteen.
• March 8 - Paul McCartney is fined $240 after pleading guilty to charges of growing marijuana outside his Scottish farm.
• March 24 - Lou Reed is bitten by a fan during a concert in Buffalo, New York.
• April 3 - Capitol Records releases two greatest hits collections, The Beatles /1962-1966 and The Beatles 1967-1970, commonly referred to as the Red and Blue albums.
• April 16 - Paul McCartney's first television special, James Paul McCartney airs. The special includes performances by McCartney and Wings.
• Opening of CBGB's

May-July

• May 9 - Mick Jagger adds $150,000 of his own money to the $350,000 raised by the Rolling Stones' January 18th benefit concert for the victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake.
• May 25 - Mike Oldfield releases Tubular Bells, the first release on Richard Branson's newly launched Virgin label.
• film The Sting revives interest in the ragtime music of Scott Joplin
• July 3 - David Bowie 'retires' his stage persona 'Ziggy Stardust' in front of a shocked audience at the Hammersmith Odeon at the end of his British tour.
• July 28 - Summer Jam at Watkins Glen rock festival attended by 600,000 to see The Allman Brothers Band, The Band, and the Grateful Dead.

August-September-October

• October 13 - Family play their last concert at DeMontfort Hall at Leicester Polytechnic (now DeMontfort University) before splitting up for good. A farewell party at a local Holiday Inn after the show ends in a good-natured melee, with people jumping in or pushed into the motel pool.
• October 20 - Queen Elizabeth II opens Sydney Opera House.

Unknown Dates

• Television forms
• Journey forms
• KISS forms
• AC/DC forms
• U.F.O. signs a contract with Chrysalis Records
• The Ronettes break up, and Ronnie Bennett begins a solo career
• The London Symphony Orchestra becomes the first British Orchestra to be invited to take part in the Salzburg Festival.
• The Open Mind disbands
• Tin Tin disbands

Albums released

• 3+3 - Isley Brothers
• A Passion Play - Jethro Tull
• A Wizard, A True Star - Todd Rundgren
• Aerosmith - Aerosmith
• African Herbsman - Bob Marley and the Wailers
• Aladdin Sane - David Bowie
• Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite - Elvis Presley
• Angel Clare - Art Garfunkel
• Band On The Run - Paul McCartney and Wings
• Berlin - Lou Reed
• Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper
• Birds of Fire - Mahavishnu Orchestra
• ''Boulders - Roy Wood
• Brain Salad Surgery - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• Brothers and Sisters - The Allman Brothers Band
• Burnin' - Bob Marley and the Wailers
• Call Me - Al Green—
• Catch a Fire - Bob Marley & the Wailers
• Closing Time - Tom Waits
• Cosmic Wheels - Donovan
• Countdown to Ecstasy - Steely Dan
• The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
• Dion & The Belmonts Reunion - Dion DiMucci & the Belmonts
• Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player - Elton John
• Duelling Banjos - Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel
• ELO 2 - Electric Light Orchestra
• Essence to Essence - Donovan
• Flying Teapot - Gong
• For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music
• Fresh - Sly & the Family Stone
• Future Days - Can (band)
• Goats Head Soup - Rolling Stones
• Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
• GP and Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
• Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band (debut)
• Hard Nose the Highway - Van Morrison
• Hello - Status Quo
• Head Hunters - Herbie Hancock
• Holland - The Beach Boys
• Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin
• Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
• It's Only a Movie - Family
• Julien - Dalida
• Killing Me Softly - Roberta Flack
• Larks Tongues in Aspic - King Crimson
• Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
• Life in a Tin Can - The Bee Gees
• Spring Tour 1973 - Donovan
• Living In The Material World - George Harrison
• Long Hard Climb - Helen Reddy
• Mind Games - John Lennon
• Muscle of Love - Alice Cooper
• Never Turn Your Back on a Friend - Budgie
• New York Dolls - New York Dolls
• Live at Carnegie Hall - Ella Fitzgerald
• Now and Then - Carpenters
• Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back - Frank Sinatra
• Over-Nite Sensation - Frank Zappa
• Paris 1919 - John Cale
• Pin Ups - David Bowie
• Pipedream - Alan Hull
• Quadrophenia - The Who
• Queen - Queen (debut)
• Ragas - Ravi Shankar
• Rainbow - McGuinness Flint
• Raw Power - The Stooges
• Red Rose Speedway - Paul McCartney and Wings
• Ring Ring - ABBA
• Roll On Ruby - Lindisfarne
• Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Black Sabbath
• Selling England by the Pound - Genesis
• Sings In Italian For You - Dalida
• Smokes - Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Stranded - Roxy Music
• Take Love Easy - Ella Fitzgerald
• Tales From Topographic Oceans - Yes
• Yessongs - Yes
• The Captain and Me - The Doobie Brothers
• The Faust Tapes - Faust (band)
• The Harder They Come - Original Soundtrack
• The Morning After - Maureen McGovern
• The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Rick Wakeman
• The Wild, the Innocent & the E-Street Shuffle - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
• There Goes Rhymin' Simon - Paul Simon
• They Only Come Out At Night - Edgar Winter Group
• Tres Hombres - ZZ Top
• Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
• '' Expolsive Hits '73 - Various Artists
• Welcome - Santana
• Who Do We Think We Are - Deep Purple
• Wishbone Four - Wishbone Ash
• Wizzard Brew - Wizzard

Top hits on record

• "Cassandra" - Sherbet
• "I Am Pegasus" - Ross Ryan
• "So Much Love (In My Heart)" - Mr George
• "You Don't Own Me" - Ormsby Brothers
• "Suzie Darlin'" - Barry Crocker
• "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" - ABBA
• "Little Saint Nick" - The Beach Boys
• "Life On Mars" - David Bowie
• "Sorrow" - David Bowie
• "Lamplight" - David Essex
• "Angie " - The Rolling Stones
• "If You Don't Know Me By Now" - Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes
• "You Can't Get Always Get What You Want" - The Rolling Stones
• "Loves Me Like a Rock" - Paul Simon (with The Dixie Hummingbirds)
• "Kodachrome" - Paul Simon
• "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" - Paul Simon
• "Whisky In The Jar" - Thin Lizzy
• "The Cisco Kid" - War)
• "Paroles... Paroles..." - Dalida & Alain Delon
• "Pour ne pas vivre seul" - Dalida
• "Vado Via" - Dalida
• "Je suis malade" - Dalida
• "Il venait d'avoir 18 ans" - Dalida
• "Playground in My Mine" - Clint Holmes
• "Superstition" - Stevie Wonder
• "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" - Stevie Wonder
• "Me and Mrs. Jones" - Billy Paul
• "Will It Go Around in Circles" - Billy Preston
• "Photograph" - Ringo Starr
• "See My Baby Jive" - Wizzard
• "Angel Fingers" - Wizzard
• "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" - Wizzard
• "Roll Over Beethoven" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" - Jim Croce
• "Gaye" - Clifford T. Ward
• "Wherewithal" - Clifford T. Ward
• "Hocus Pocus" - Focus
• "Slyvia" - Focus
• "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" - Elton John
• "Alright Alright Alright" - Mungo Jerry
• "Helen Wheels" - Paul McCartney and Wings
• "Live and Let Die" - Paul McCartney and Wings
• "All The Way From Memphis" - Mott The Hoople
• "Looking For A Kiss" - New York Dolls
• "Touch Me in the Morning" - Diana Ross
• "Get Up Stand Up" - Bob Marley and the Wailers
• "Cum On Feel The Noize" - Slade
• "Merry Xmas Everybody" - Slade
• "Blockbuster" - The Sweet
• "Hellraiser" - The Sweet
• "Ballroom Blitz" - The Sweet
• "5:15" - The Who
• "Relay" - The Who
• "Frankenstein" - Edgar Winter Group
• "Ramblin' Man" - Allman Brothers Band
• "Radar Love" - Golden Earring
• "Keep On Truckin' " - Eddie Kendricks
• "Delta Dawn" - Helen Reddy
• "Killing Me Softly with His Song" - Roberta Flack
• "Higher Ground" - Stevie Wonder
• "I'm The Leader Of The Gang(I Am)" - Gary Glitter
• "My Love" - Paul McCartney & Wings
• "Why Me" - Kris Kristofferson
• "Let's Get It On" - Marvin Gaye
• "Tie a Yellow Ribbon around the Old Oak Tree" - Tony Orlando & Dawn
• "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" - Elton John
• "Step Into Christmas" - Elton John
• "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin
• "Over the Hills and Far Away" - Led Zeppelin
• "D'yer Mak'er" - Led Zeppelin
• "Top of the World" - Carpenters
• "The Morning After" - Maureen McGovern
• "I'm Just A Singer(In A Rock And Roll Band)" - The Moody Blues
• "Keep Yourself Alive" - Queen
• "Nutbush City Limits - Ike and Tina Turner
• "Get Down" - Gilbert O'Sullivan
• "Money" - Pink Floyd
• "Jolene" - Dolly Parton

Published popular music

• "And I Love You So" w.m. Don McLean
• "Candle in the Wind" w. Bernie Taupin m. Elton John
• "I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song" w.m. Jim Croce
• "I've Got To Use My Imagination"      w.m. Gerry Goffin & Barry Goldberg
• "Last Song" w.m. Lawrence Wayne Evoy
• "Liaisons" w.m. Stephen Sondheim from the musical A Little Night Music
• "Midnight Train To Georgia"     w.m. Jim Weatherly
• "Nadia's Theme" m. Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr., from the TV soap opera The Young and the Restless
• "(Say Has Anybody Seen) My Sweet Gypsy Rose"     w.m. Irwin Levine & L. Russell Brown
• "Piano Man" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Send In The Clowns"     w.m. Stephen Sondheim from the musical A Little Night Music
• "Stuck In The Middle With You"     w.m. Joe Egan & Gerry Rafferty
• "There Used To Be A Ballpark" w.m. Joe Raposo
• "Top Of The World" w.m. John Bettis & Richard Carpenter
• "The Way We Were" w. Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman m. Marvin Hamlisch from the film The Way We Were
• "Yesterday Once More" w.m. John Bettis & Richard Carpenter

Classical music

• Jean Absil - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3
• William Alwyn - Fantasy Sonata for flute and harp
• Gloria Coates - Music on Open Strings (Symphony no. 1)
• George Crumb - Makrokosmos, Volume II for amplified piano
• Alberto Ginastera - String Quartet no. 3
• Lou Harrison - Organ Concerto with Percussion
• Anthony Iannaccone - Rituals
• Frank Martin - Requiem
• Luigi Nono - Canto per il Vietnam
• Carl Orff - De Temporum Fine Comoedia

Opera

• de la Figo - Bronski eu Lot

Musical theater

• Gigi (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe) - Broadway production
• Grease     London production
• A Musical Fable (Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim) - London production
• Hard to be a Jew     Broadway production
• Irene     Broadway revival
• Here Comes the Groom     Broadway production
• The King and I (Rodgers & Hammerstein) - London revival
• A Little Night Music (Stephen Sondheim) - Broadway production
• No, No, Nanette (Irving Caesar, Otto Harbach, Vincent Youmans) - London revival
• The Pajama Game (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) - Broadway revival
• Pinocchio     Broadway production
• Pippin     London production
• Raisin     Broadway production
• The Rocky Horror Show (Richard O'Brien) - London production
• Seesaw     Broadway production opened at the Uris Theatre on March 18 and ran for 296 performances
• Two Gentlemen from Verona     London production

Musical films

• Godspell
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Lost Horizon (w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach) released March 14
• Robin Hood animated feature released November 8
• Tom Sawyer

Births

• January 1 - DJ Shadow, DJ
• January 10 - Aerle Taree, Arrested Development
• March 17 - Caroline Corr, drummer
• April 4 - Kelly Price
• April 29 - Mike Hogan, The Cranberries
• May 2 - Justin Burnett, film score composer
• May 5 - Casino Versus Japan, electronic musician
• May 14 - Natalie Appleton, singer
• May 14 - Shanice, singer
• May 17 - Joshua Homme, guitarist and vocalist for Queens of the Stone Age
• June 9 - Wes Scantlin, Puddle Of Mudd
• June 10 - Faith Evans
• June 23 - Marie N, Eurovision-winning singer
• July 4 - Gackt, singer, songwriter, and musician
• July 5 - Bengt Lagerberg, The Cardigans
• July 25 - Ladybug, Digable Planets
• July 29 - Wanya Morris, Boyz II Men
• September 17 - Anastacia, singer
• September 23 - Jermaine Dupri, record producer
• November 3 - Mick Thompson, guitarist for Slipknot
• December 8 - Corey Taylor, vocalist for Slipknot
• December 11 - Mos Def, rapper

Deaths

• January 16 - Clara Ward, gospel singer
• January 23 - Kid Ory
• February 19 - Joseph Szigeti, violinist
• March 5 - Michael Jeffrey, Jimi Hendrix's personal manager
• March 8 - Ron Pigpen McKernan, Grateful Dead, stomach hemorrhage
• March 26 - Noel Coward, composer
• April 18 - Willie 'The Lion' Smith, US jazz pianist
• May 21 - Vaughn Monroe, US singer and bandleader
• July 3 - Betty Grable, US actress and singer
• July 3 - Karel Ančerl, conductor
• July 6 - Otto Klemperer, conductor
• July 14 - Clarence White, guitarist The Byrds
• August 17 - Jean Barraqué, French classical composer
• September 6 - William Henry Harris, organist and composer
• September 17 - Hugo Winterhalter, US conductor and arranger
• September 19 - Gram Parsons, guitarist/vocalist
• September 20 - Jim Croce, singer
• October 16 - Gene Krupa, drummer
• October 22 - Pablo Casals, cellist
• November 11 - David "Stringbean" Akeman, US country musician
• November 18 - Alois Hába, composer
• November 27 - Frank Christian
• December 20 - Bobby Darin, singer
• December 31 - Emile Christian

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1973

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1973

External Charts

• Pop Culture Madness 1979 Pop Music Chart

1973 in music

1973 en musique | 1973 במוזיקה | 1973 (muziek) | 1973 - muzyka | 1973 в музыке | Musikåret 1973